“This is really important, especially for me, because of the influence we can have on younger kids,” Garcia said Thursday from his home in Sacramento, Calif.

For Cisneros, also a 2009 inductee into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame, the honor validates what he believes is a longstanding commitment to helping the Hispanic community.

“I've tried to be supportive of sports in my government, civic and business life,” said Cisneros, who as mayor of San Antonio spearheaded construction of the Alamodome in the early 1990s. “I personally think it's really important to a community, but especially to the population like the Hispanic community around the country.”

Cisneros, 65, also is a driving force behind the city's annual Senior Games, both as a supporter and competitor.

Montoya played 16 seasons with the Bengals and Los Angeles Raiders. Forestier has been recognized as one of the state's top 100 women's high school players in her sport.

The award ceremony will be from 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday at La Villita Assembly Hall. For information, call 210-823-7682 or 210-889-0498.